Lil'one Down Under

Let the floorboards begin!

2009-12-01T19:27:00.000-08:00

There are many aspects of home renovation that are very time consuming, and for Rob and I it seems to be the planning and decision-making process that really eats up the time. Maybe it would be easier if we weren't both indecisive Libras who need to endlessly weigh the pros and cons of every little possibility and impossibility, but then again, maybe not. I'm not sure that making a multitude of choices about very costly, (semi)permanent things is all that easy for anyone.

One thing that we were very sure about from the get-go was the need to rip out all of the dirty, smelly old carpets and install hardwood floors. Both Rob and I suffer from allergies and those carpets were harboring a host of nasties that set us of. We considered a number of different options for floor coverings and finally settled on recycled jarrah floorboards. Jarrah is a native Australian hardwood that has been used extensively in building in this region for ages. It's highly resistant to termite infestation and has a range of beautiful colors from rosewood to strawberry blond. Neither one of us wanted to support the harvesting of new trees just to have pretty floors, so it was nice to discover that there is a small but prosperous industry committed to collecting and refurbishing old floorboards that get ripped out of demolished houses. So, no new trees were harmed in the beautification of our home and the boards didn't have to travel long distances to get to us - it's a win-win situation

The process started with the tried and true - measure twice, cut once…

Above: Rob's makeshift work bench and a pile of boards directly from the recyclers.

Below: Boards are prepared and laid out in the master bedroom.

Below: All the boards have been cut to size and laid out in anticipation of installation in both the master bedroom and office.

Rob spent an entire day carefully cutting all of the boards and arranging them to highlight their natural color variations. It was no mean feat to get it all sorted! The next day our friend Brad came to help with the actual installation process. The two boys spent nearly 13 hours completing the two rooms! It probably would have gone a lot faster if Brad didn't lie down on the job so often…

Above: Loads of heavy stuff stacked on the boards to hold them in place whilst the glue dries.

Below: The kitties enjoy a sunbeam on the nice new floors…

Life's a Beach

2009-11-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

I haven't had much time away from the house and renovations, but I did head down to Cottesloe one fine weekend to play catch-up with Megan and Simba. Whilst down there we discovered this awesome sun dial down by the beach.

It's designed so that you can read the time at a specific date and get the exact time to the minute. It's interesting because you can't see it from the road or the beach, you have to walk down a little path behind a building to find it, but very cool when you do!

Progress on the House

2009-11-30T05:48:00.000-08:00

Oooh, pretty blue walls to replace the weird dark bluish green one. Our colors were all so edible - Artesian Well, Blueberry, Custard Cream…

And a lovely 'Indulgence' lemonyness for the new office…

Renovations Part II

2009-11-30T05:36:00.001-08:00

Rob discovered that both the window sills and the baseboards were solid jarrah timber - Bonus! We decided to go with the bare wood look. Stripping back a few decades of paint = a WHOLE LOT of sanding and equal amounts of dust. But the end results were beautiful.

Along with the sanding came the painting. And with the painting comes the funny painting suits…

Renovations Begin

2009-11-30T05:18:00.000-08:00

In the beginning there was a lot of dust…

This cotton candy pink room had to go! Out with the nasty carpet, steamed off the wallpaper strips, stripped the baseboards and window sill, etc., etc.…

Master bedroom needed a lot of help too! Rob and his cousin Justin pulled out the built-in wardrobe, pulled out the carpet, and stripped everything down. The guys did an awesome job!

In The Beginning, Part II… The Garden

2009-11-06T06:58:00.001-08:00

Upon first glance, the yard looked like a little slice of heaven - fruit trees, chicken coop, pagoda, pool, raised garden beds, a great covered patio and lots of space. What we didn't realize is that what we thought was clover was actually a very nasty weed known as 'bindi' that turns into horrible, brown ground cover full of hard spiky balls, and what we thought was grass was predominantly weeds… We also discovered that 2 out of the 3 potted ficus trees around the pool were dying and/or infested with ants, that the chicken coop had been defunct for years and weeds had grown up thick and waist high, that every tree and vine desperately needed pruning.

View from the back door out to the shed/yard/pool.

Dying ficus tree, overgrown lemon tree and bougainvillea next to the chicken coop.

Dilapidated chicken coop, overgrown peach tree, crazy huge weeds, and volunteer tomato plants! (hidden under the weeds)

The bougainvillea attempting to eat the pagoda, and the 'lawn' that turned out to be nothing but weeds :( Our friend Brad decided to give me a heart attack by informing me that, 'one year of seeding leads to seven years of weeding'. Thanks Brad. Nice pool though!

The view of the front yard from the master bedroom - the garden bed erupted in weeds shortly after this photo was taken…

And the huge neglected grape vines in their bed of weeds.

New House - In the beginning…

2009-10-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

In the beginning there were nasty old carpets, terrible paint jobs, crappy kitchen cupboards, heaps of weeds and over-grown plants, festy tiles, windows needing replacement, and an incredible amount of 'potential'. Rob told me when he put the offer in on the house that it 'needed some work', but generally gave me the impression that these would be things we could do for 'fun' as time and finances allowed. Um… yeah…

Our new house

2009-10-11T05:40:00.000-07:00

About one month ago, Rob and I became new home owners. Our new house is in a Perth suburb about 8 km from our work places. It's definitely a 'fixer-upper' but the location is ideal. The neighborhood seems nice and quiet even though we're fairly close to a major road. We're quite close to shops, bus lines and one of the major rivers that runs through Perth. I'm able to ride my bike to work along a network of bike paths that meander along our local creek and then the green belt along the river. It's a beautiful ride and I feel pretty lucky every day as I pedal along.

Living in a place whilst doing renovations is no mean feat. Add to that two full-time jobs and shopping hours limited to roughly 8-5:30 Monday-Saturday and suddenly time gets very tight and tempers a little short. The first few weeks were a little rough living out of boxes in cramped quarters, especially since the weather was pretty nasty, but we're starting to get settled in and used to our living situation.

Rob's March Visit Part III

2009-05-14T22:30:00.001-07:00

Chatanika Outhouse Races!

I think our little sojourn out to Chatanika with Mike, Lena, and Evan constituted the most fun, silliest, and coldest portion of Rob's visit. The five of us packed into Mike's Impreza the morning after Rob & I got engaged for a cozy drive out to the little lodge about 30 north of Fairbanks. This annual event is a truly unique Alaskan experience. Groups of nutters design an outhouse (dunny, shitter, etc.), decorate the hell out of it, stick one unsuspecting member on the pot, and then sprint down the road with the lot in an effort to clock the shortest time.

After the races we all went inside to enjoy the ambience, some chili, fries, hot cocoa, and the excellent company. Once we had partially thawed out, we decided that participating in human bowling was just the ticket…

While we didn't win at 10-pin (we missed one), I think Rob did get the prize for coming from the furthest away and I'm quite sure we were the only team that got engaged within the previous 24 hours. All in all, we had a blast. The best part for me was seeing Rob have so much fun with my friends. Even Rocky got in on the action…

Rob's March Visit Part II

2009-05-14T22:13:00.001-07:00

So I kinda glossed over the most exciting part of Rob's visit in Part I - we got engaged!

~The Engagement~

I had an inkling that Rob was going to ask me to marry him while he was visiting, but I wasn't exactly sure just how he was going to go about it. I fully expected it at the airport, but it didn't happen (although that was his intention). Instead he was extremely anxious about the aurora forecast, abnormally so for someone who isn't exactly into aurora photography as a hobby. He constantly asked me when we could see it and was terribly (disproportionately, I might say) disappointed when I informed him that this was an unusually bad year for it.

Then one night the forecast was decent, so we decided to go out for a little aurora sighting. Fortified with a few glasses of wine (Rob not me), we set off to Goldstream Valley to see what there was to see. Within seconds of pulling off the side of the road, Rob was instantly disappointed by the quality of the aurora. I was a little befuddled and tried to point out to him what it was doing, but much to my confusion he barely looked out the window. Then he asked if I could turn on the dome light in the car - uh, OK…

Then, from within the depths of his multitude of layers, he produced a small box and a folded up piece of paper and began to read:

Leslie, your many qualities make you a very special person; your smile and laughter give me happiness; your beauty and passion drive me wild; your intelligence and determination give me pride and admiration for you; your love and affection sustains me, I crave it. You complete me.

Being with you gives me a full and happy life. If I have ever been sure about anything, I know I am sure about you and us, and that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You are my friend, my confidant, my lover, and my companion.

Leslie, will you marry me?

Well, of course I said 'yes', and then suggested we head to Ivory Jack's to celebrate in good Fairbanks style with all of our new best friends.

Rob's March Visit Part I

2009-05-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

OK, my apologies that this post is about 2 months overdue - but you try to finish a Ph.D., teach a class, prepare to move across the world, maintain your sanity, AND keep up-to-date on your blog.

So, the boy who never intended to go to America finally visited Alaska… In the coldest month of March since about 1922… And he still managed to smile, but I think he must really like the girl who was taking his photo…

In spite of my best efforts to mentally prepare Rob for the cold, there just wasn't much I could do to ease the shock of arriving to -35C, short days and piles of snow from +40C and beautiful, sunny

Australian summer. He was also wholly unprepared for the massive jet lag and coming to a 'city' seriously lacking for public transport, anything to walk around and see, or just things to do in general. It was sort of a mixed blessing that we both went down hard with a terrible bug for the first week he was here - what a perfect excuse to stay in bed for a week!

Once we finally surfaced, our schedule was packed. I had heaps of work to do and was still fighting that brutal bug, but we still managed to get in a pile of Alaskan adventures. The ice park was a must-see. I haven't made it for years and I was psyched to see Lars's kinetic ice sculpture.

We managed to get over to Belfair to have dinner with the whole gang, plus Mike and Lena, hiked up to the top of Moose Mt., and generally had a little show and tell time around my favorite stomping grounds. We also got to have some friends over for some über spicy borscht Rob made (I believe it was Russian-Vietnamese fusion he was going for…), house/pet-sat for Jen and Dan, saw some moose, and ate enough fatty foods for Rob to pack on 5 kilos in a few weeks.

Spotlight on Mr. Dexter

2009-05-14T21:08:00.000-07:00

Some people think my cat isn't very bright. I beg to differ. He can turn nearly any piece of garbage into weeks of entertainment. This piece of paper was his favorite. It had so many uses: he could hide under it (as seen above), he could attack it and make lots of wonderful crinkly noises, and he could tear it to shreds. What wonderful kitty fun! He also loves ribbon, rubber bands, twist-ties, and plastic sacks - especially plastic sacks! He also enjoys some good laser pointer action from time to time, but in general he eschews any store-bought toys in favor of things that would otherwise be thrown out. Such a green kitty. I think he takes after his mamma.

Unfortunately for both of us, the little man is a little tumor factory. He had a fist-sized tumor removed about 18 months ago - not a fun event for kitty or his big white mamma! Tomorrow we're headed back to the vet to get another one out. Poor kitty :( (and poor mamma's bank account…) Tomorrow morning is going to suck because he will probably keep me up all night begging for food I can't give him and then I have to shove him into his carrier and deal with him yowling in the car. Thank goodness the vet is only two minutes away!

Dexter's going to be in for a big nasty couple of months. After he recoups from surgery we'll be separated until the end of August when he finally gets released from quarantine. Lest we forget the 24 hours of flying he has to endure to get to Perth… argh. Finally, he gets to move into his new home and meet his sister, Alley. That should be fun. He'll probably be OK with it, but she'll freak.

Updates from Rob's visit coming soon!!

2009-03-30T11:05:00.001-07:00

No time now, but photos, videos and silly stories will be here soon!

Morning Moose & Record Snowfall

2009-03-06T11:58:00.001-08:00

I rarely look out my bedroom window in the morning, but yesterday something caught my eye forcing me to peek out. There was a large male moose (this guy on the left) wandering through the yard browsing on what little he could find there. Now moose aren't unusual sights in Fairbanks, but I did get pretty excited because I hadn't seen one in a while and it was snowing really hard.

Fairbanks doesn't typically get a whole lot of snow. It usually comes in small doses that hang around for ages, but piles of powder are not common. We have had two record snowfall days this week, and it's still coming down… It's unbelievably pretty, but horribly treacherous for driving. I was incredibly thankful for my AWD last night as I made my way home from school. Fairbanksans are typically pretty cavalier about crappy driving conditions, but drivers were simply crawling down the road and taking intersections at a snail's pace. I wasn't sure if I'd make it up our unplowed driveway since I have such low clearance, but my little Impreza just floated along like a champ. I fear, however, it will take a fair bit of shoveling to get it back out this evening.

Skiing to work

2009-02-25T22:17:00.001-08:00

To all my wonderful Aussie friends who don't yet believe I can walk on water - this is a lake, and I'm standing in the middle of it. :)

As nice as walking or biking to work is, there's nothing quite as grand as skiing to work. This is especially true on a bright, sunny, crisp late winter morning.

Lil'One In the Great White North

2009-02-15T15:05:00.001-08:00

How I can possibly feel so split between two such radically different places as Perth and Fairbanks is beyond me. Maybe someday I'll understand. I do, however, have a much greater appreciation for what it is I so love about Fairbanks (and what I'm not so fond of) after returning last week. Love: the folks - man I know some AMAZING people here, the sense of community is fantastic, and parties are so easy going; Not so fond of: the dryness - ugh, my skin and respiratory system are truly protesting.

I got back in last Saturday and made it to Ted's 25th b-day celebration (again) after a full day of moving. His newly finished house was rockin' with tremendous people and it was a great way for me to make an 'entrance' back into Fbx life. The next morning found me up at Belfair for Sunday waffles, extracting the rest of my junk from the house, and changing my tires. Woo hoo - I'm not completely citified yet!!

The weather's been truly gorgeous and welcoming since I returned - I must admit that the view from my window here far surpasses the tiny swath of tree tops I could see from my office in Perth. A new layer of snow yesterday has me itching to get out for a ski, soon, soon, soon, everything in due time.

Goodnight Perth, for now…

2009-02-08T23:17:00.001-08:00

Perth is truly a stunning city and rather magical at night. As happy as I am to be frolicking in the Alaskan snow, I do find myself emotionally split between my two 'homes' - Perth and Fairbanks.

Last Big Night In Perth

2009-01-25T00:28:00.001-08:00

Saying 'goodbye' is always hard for me, even when I know I'll be back. I just love my friends so much. I've been incredibly fortunate to get to know some really outstanding folks here over the past 7 months - both for work and play. I am definitely looking forward to returning to continue fostering these relationships.

For my farewell dinner, we gathered at one of my favorite restaurants in Perth - Annalakshmi www.annalakshmi.com.au/ - a non-profit, vegetarian, volunteer-run joint. The food and setting are both simply gorgeous. I had a moment of near panic when my reservation for 20 had somehow vanished from the books, and a group of 40 was to arrive less than an hour later, but they were ever so gracious and found a spot for us.

We did have to split up into two tables, but the views offered in both directions were gorgeous.

It's going to be a long-cold winter missing these folks:

More Little Aussie Friends

2009-01-24T23:50:00.000-08:00

I'm starting to loose track of how many Red Backs I've seen around here lately (see earlier post), but it's never a welcome site. I caught a few more little friends on film around the garage - these are far more benign, but the spider is actually bigger than the gecko…

Happy 2009!

2009-01-24T23:41:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year's! OK, yes, it's admittedly late - the past several weeks have just been insanely hectic. Rob and I rang in the new year at a vegetarian BBQ hosted by our good friends Brad and Amanda. It was so nice to take a dip in their pool to cool off after the extremely hot week. It was a fabulous crowd from all over the world. We had fantastic food (prepared by Amanda), sparklers, way too much bubbly, poppers and everything else needed for a brilliantly good time.

Christmas In Margaret River - Day 6

2009-01-06T20:12:00.000-08:00

A lack of water and thirst for more adventure, coffee and interesting sights spurred us on to an early start to Augusta. Our hope was to get to the information centre early enough that we might luck into a place to stay for the night. Luck, it seems, is Rob's middle name…

After coffee along the main street, I wandered off to explore the hamlet's public toilet offerings leaving Rob to his own devices. While I was gone he picked up some items we thought we'd need for another night of camping then headed over to the info centre. It seems the one room in the entire region, from Augusta to Bunbury, came open the minute Rob walked in the door. I caught up with him just as he was booking us into a lovely little tea house in Cowramup, just 7 km north of Margaret River.

With accommodations for our last night sorted, we had plenty of time to explore the southwestern-most corner of the state. I was very excited at the prospect of seeing the confluence of the Southern and Indian Oceans - what a unique experience! We headed down to the lighthouse and had heaps of fun goofing around with the camera and learning about the

history of the region.

It may not look like much in the photo, but just under my fingertips is a discernible break in water color and height. The two oceans are different temperatures and salinities and therefore different densities - wicked cool. The area around the lighthouse was really interesting to explore - there were three little houses, each with its own laundry shed (complete with wood stove) that originally housed the families of the three lighthouse keepers who shared the responsibility to keep watch every night of the year. It's quite amazing to think about what life must have been like on that isolated weather-beaten outpost.

This calcified natural spring pump was super cool - it used to transport water from the spring down to the little houses about 1 km down the coast. I loved the juxtaposition of the super old cratonic gneisses, standing like sentries facing the sea, and the century old limestone that's formed on top. Above right - Rob for scale.

Yes, we are about 12. And huge dorks…

We spent the rest of the arvo driving through native forest, lunching on the beach, and laughing at novice surfers. By the time we checked into our room we were both more than ready for a shower - it had been a very hot day and we were covered in the funk of two days camping and swimming in two different oceans - yum! After cleaning up we tried in vain to find a place I'd been misinformed about then wandered into an organic winery to find our favorite collection of wines of the whole trip, prompting the purchase of an entire case.

Luck was on our side again when we managed to wander into a restaurant without a booking and get a seat - going very early was a darn good idea! We gorged ourselves on the seafood platter for two at The Waves and couldn't even come close to finishing the tower of food, although we gave it our best shot.

Christmas In Margaret River - Day 4 & 5

2009-01-02T21:16:00.000-08:00

Planning is not Rob's forte. Yes, I have learned in my many years of travel the joys of loosely organized days and that strict schedules are best limited to airlines. Yet, after hearing one seasoned Perthite after another say, "everyone goes to Margaret River for Christmas," my instincts told me we'd best have a good idea of what we wanted to do and where we were going to sleep.

We decided weeks ago that we would enjoy the good life for a few days then rough it for the rest of the time to maximize what we could see and do without completely breaking the bank. Under duress (with me freaking out at him for not being the least bit involved in the planning process) Rob promised to take a good look at the map and come up with ideas to get us through a few days. I took him at his word and didn't give it another thought - something I might think twice about before doing again…

Rob's 'plan' was to drive way south from M.R. to a very remote 4WD camp site on the Southern Ocean, spend a day dune surfing on 150 m dunes along the coast, then see where our whims took us from there. This could have worked if we had

1. left M.R. before noon,

2. had it not been raining,

3. had the road marked 'Seasonal Access Only' not been closed,

4. had the 50 km detour not forced us to turn around when that road became impassable, and 5. if we had queried a local or two about what we might actually find down there.

I had a 'bad feeling' about the whole situation when he showed me where we were headed on the map, but kept my dubious notions to myself. Well, at least until we had to turn around on the impassable 4WD track after 3 p.m. in the middle of BFE with no place to stay and a whole day completely wasted driving back and forth trying to get to an inaccessible camp site, then I kinda lost it.

The new 'plan' was quickly set into action - drive another 50 km north to an area with three neighboring campsites and try our luck on the busiest camping weekend of the year. This time we were a little more fortunate. We pulled into a cleared area about 5 km off the main road down a narrow 4WD track and set up camp. The area was inhabited by a rather large group of locals who had settled in for a week of 'camping' complete with all the necessities - dirt bikes, generators, music, booze, canoes, dogs, etc. They were pretty nice and didn't mind us tromping through their site to go play in the river, but damn they were noisy.

* * * * * * *

Having learned our lesson about the paucity of camp sites the day before, we left our camp intact for the next day. A low fuel gauge forced us to drive about 50 km north east to Nanup for fuel and coffee (after a terrible night's sleep I wasn't doing anything without my own fuel). We were quite pleased at Nanup's offerings (including an organic cafe with a multitude of gluten free offerings), and decided to wait out the heat of the day taking in the local nature walks in the woods and lunching in town.

Feeling sated and having stretched the legs, we decided to give the dues another go. Rob was quite convinced we could get to them without issue and that we'd be spending the afternoon dune surfing down to the water's edge. Again I was quite skeptical about how flawlessly this 'plan' would be pulled off, but decided to be a good sport and play along. Again, there were a few little problems:

1. there were no actual beach access points for a few hundred km between the campsite we were unable to reach and the town of Agusta,

2. even the tiniest 4WD track on the map piddled out a few km from the water,

and 3. Rob's little machine doesn't really have the guts to traverse the burliest tracks. And, again, we didn't bother to get some beta from locals on what we might actually encounter down there.

So, we drove and drove and drove along miles of fenced off farm land, with me getting progressively more frustrated and convinced that there was no way this was ever going to pan out, forcing Rob to prove me wrong. We finally found an ungated track heading toward the water and drove down it as far as we could. Rob ran up the sandy hill ahead of us and proclaimed that the beach was just a simple 2 km walk away. Boy, I wish I could have his

unflagging optimism.

The 4WD track quickly disintegrated into a mere 'roo trail and finally into nothing more than an overgrown fence line. The threat of snakebites or twisted ankles was very real, but we pushed on, determined to make it to the water after going so far. After bushwhacking for about 45 minutes, we finally broke free to less vegetated dunes and then on to the beach.

Rob was quite disappointed in his dunes, but I was completely thrilled to jump into yet another of the world's oceans…

Unfortunately, the rapidly dwindling lifespan of my camera battery meant we weren't able to perfect any jump

shots, which are especially

difficult to execute in the surf.

After a few minutes of splashing about in our bathers, we realized we were the only people around for miles and decided to go starkers (he, he…)

All's well that ends well, and it turned out to be a pretty good day, even if the last few gallons of our drinking water did spill down into the car…

Christmas In Margaret River - Day 3

2009-01-01T18:28:00.000-08:00

No trip to wine country would be complete without a wine tour. When planning the trip, Rob was quite skeptical about paying someone to drive us around to various wineries and wanted to go the self-guided route. I thought this posed two problems: 1) we knew nothing about the region or which wineries would be most interesting to visit, and 2) someone has to stay sober enough to drive. My Lonely Planet recommended Bush Tucker wine tours as an excellent way to taste some real gems, have a great day learning more about wine and the region while meeting interesting people AND have an Aussie bush lunch. I thought this sounded perfect and thanks to my wonderful mum, didn't cost us a thing.

Our intrepid guide for the day, Silvano, was a total hoot. From the moment we boarded the bus, he was so engaging and prodded us into mixing with the others on the tour. We had a great 'team' for our day of 'hard work', as Silvano repeatedly referred to wine tasting, with six 20-something to 30-something couples from France, New Zealand, Australia, and (of course) Alaska. Many in our group had recently moved to Perth and it was the first time to Margaret River for all.

Xanadu was our first destination and the largest winery we visited all day. Silvano started us out with a lively introduction to wine tasting to help our largely novice wine-taster group get the most out of the experience. For all the posh atmosphere and award-winning wine we sampled, I didn't find anything I particularly loved, but Rob grabbed a few bottles he was fond of.

I loved this metal wall art at Xanadu (left); Silvano patiently giving us instructions (right)

From Xanadu we trekked back up through M.R. to Adinfern Estates where we were treated to some remarkably excellent wines from such a tiny family operation. The pace of tasting was a little more relaxed as this was also our lunch stop, so we had more time to chat with others in the group and discuss each wine a little more. Rob and I quickly befriended Ruth and Raphael, a couple close to our age (and height for Ruth and me!) who recently relocated to Perth, and shared a bottle of Adinfern CabSav over lunch.

At lunch we discovered, much to my chagrin, that I had been a bad, bad blogger and forgot to charge my camera battery before the trip (the horror, the horror!). I also failed to pack the charger, meaning limited photo documentation for the rest of the trip :( Which is a crying shame considering lunch itself was a work of art, with beautifully displayed, delectible bush foods. Rob and I were also fortunate to get to try the witchetty grub (granted there wasn't a lot of competition for the honor).

I "borrowed" this shot from www.expedition360.com

In the most jovial of moods after an excellent lunch and plenty of wine, we headed off to my favorite stop of the day - the Margaret River Chocolate Co. I won't even go into just how much chocolate I bought here… Then we were off to Knotting Hill Estates, the site of Julia Roberts' very private wedding earlier this year. By this point we'd tasted ~20 wines and I was a bit sideways, so I opted to spit, which I still find disgraceful even if it is condoned. Of course, I wasn't all that into their wines anyway.

The last winery of the day was Tassel Park Wines, set on an absolutely stunning estate. Mr. Tassel himself served us ample 'tastes' of his delectable wines and did a hefty round of sales through our group. His was the first M.R. Shraz I truly enjoyed, so I simply had to take one home. Our final tasting with him was quite out of place in the sultry heat of the afternoon, but aroused in me the one true Christmassy feeling I've had this year - mulled wine, mmmm… I drank Rob's too.

By the time we made it to the brewery, our final point of interest, I wasn't feeling so swell. We'd been drinking for five hours and it was quite hot, so I opted out of beer tasting. All in all it was a most excellent day, capped of with a fantastic dinner we shared with Ruth and Raphael at the Arc of Iris restaurant in M.R.

Christmas Day In Margaret River

2008-12-30T23:53:00.000-08:00

We had a tough schedule to stick to on Christmas Day, but somehow we managed…

8:30 a.m. - Wake, shower, dress

9:00 a.m. - Breakfast in manor house

10:30 a.m. - Walk along river, mosey through town, window shop, etc.

11:30 a.m. - Cook Christmas Dinner

1:00 p.m. - Drink wine & snack

4:00 p.m. - Eat Christmas Dinner

5:30 p.m. - Drift into food coma

6:00 p.m. - Watch DVD whilst food digests

7:30 p.m. - Eat dessert & drink more wine

8:30 p.m. - Watch another DVD & sip port

10:00 p.m. - Pass out

The two primary obstacles to overcome over the course of the day were

1) Pacing our alcohol consumption and

2) Cooking a traditional-ish Christmas dinner in the most miniscule oven ever

I am proud to say that we were highly successful in accomplishing both tasks.

Left: our ittsy-bittsy kitchen (and we didn't even use the microwave!); Right: our cook kit

Voila! Roast pumpkin and sweet potato - yummmmm!!!

Before and after shots of Christmas dinner - Left: Rob ready to dive into our fabulous fare of roast free-range turkey leg (cooked w/ butter and garlic), roasted sweet potato and pumpkin w/ cumin and cinnamon, buttery garlicky mashed red potatoes, sauteed asparagus and onions, cranberry sauce, and a lovely bottle of Cab-Sav; Right: Rob feeling decidedly "chockers"

Oh, Pavlova, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways… We polished off all but a small chunk of this four-person pav before the night was out. Oh, the luscious, gooey goodness!!

Christmas In Margaret River - Day 1

2008-12-30T23:12:00.001-08:00

The concept of a warm Christmas is so utterly foreign to me. Yes, I've done the sunny Christmas holiday escape to Central America a few times in my life, but having months of heat during the buildup, execution, and aftermath of this chilliest of holidays strikes me as just plain weird. I've had to laugh every time the lyric, 'oh, the weather outside is frightful…' rang out on the airwaves whilst shopping over the past month - yeah, "Oh dear! It's 80°F and stunningly sunny outside, that is simply dreadful!" What a bunch of weirdos… Stranger yet is the prevailingly northern-hemispheric-centric holiday decorations - wreaths, holly, fake snow, reindeer, etc.

So, with no fireplace to curl up beside with a mug of peppermint cocoa, and absolutely NO need for one, I couldn't bear the thought of spending Christmas at home. Rob and I packed his little 4WD to the gills and headed south for slightly cooler climes and a little much-needed R&R. First stop, our fav little coffee shop - Antz Inya Pantz www.antzinyapantz.com run by an American expat from Spokane, WA - to fuel up for the 4-hour drive.

The drive down to Margaret River was relatively uneventful, winding down through the lush countryside. We made a brief stop in Bunbury to pick up some fresh fruit for our Christmas dinner, but didn't really have the foresight to grab the most appropriate or needed items. I've never taken so much extraneous food on a trip and still managed to be without key ingredients for planned dishes - definitely could use a PDA…

We were sorely disappointed to find our planned lunch stop, Cape Lavender, unexpectedly closed and thus rocked up in M.R. cranky and über hungry. Fortunately, the recommendation we'd received for eats in town panned out before the trip was completely ruined. Settlers Tavern www.settlerstavern.com/ served up large and tasty late lunches to an eclectic mix of music.

Finally, in the late arvo, we were able to take a load off and start to unwind in the quaint tranquility of the Bridgefield Guest House www.bridgefield.com.au

Rob and I relaxing with a bottle of Margaret River chardonnay on the porch of our private little cabin.

View of the Bridgefield Guest House wishing well and sunset on the main house

Jade - the cat of the house, who had clearly been left to run the joint while the owners were off enjoying themselves.

Boing!

2008-12-21T17:22:00.001-08:00

I finally caught a glimpse of a kangaroo in the wild long enough to snap a photo -

Last weekend Rob and I went out to John Forrest national park to do the 15 km hike I did the first weekend I was here. We got started a good two hours later than we should have and got a wee bit lost following a horse track that added 3-4 extra kilometers to our trek. These two small misfortunes equalled a few brutally hot hours of hiking as we finish

ed the loop. On the flip side, it gave us an extra stunning bit of ground to traverse and we ran smack into a momma kangaroo and her joey.

We were marching along, and as usual I was completely fixated on my feet in an effort to not end up with my face in the dirt. Rob, on the other hand, was all eyes and ears up and out to catch any little item of interest in the vicinity. According to him, I would have walked directly into the roos had they not bounded off just before I plowed into them. Good thing they were paying attention…

It was amazing to me that they only bounced off about 15 meters into the bush and then just stood there, allowing me to get my camera out of the pack, position myself for a shot and actually snap one before they took off. The youngin' was definitely the more skittish of the two, taking off before I could get a better shot with both of them. Oh well, he was pretty damn cute anyway.

Other than a mutual cranky pants moment at the blazing hot end of the hike, as we were both suffering from creaky painful joints and desperate for cold water to jump into, it was a pretty great day.

Alley Cat

2008-12-21T17:07:00.000-08:00

One of the things I've missed most since arriving in Perth is my precious pussy, Dexter. I find few things as soothing as snuggling with him, stroking his head, and avoiding being bitten. I still miss him terribly, but for now a little substitute will suffice.

Rob's cat Alley came to us from Melbourne a few weekends ago. At first she sequestered herself to the undersides of beds and couches, was terrified of the train passing a few blocks away, and generally wasn't really taking care of herself. After several days of this antisocial behavior, she wasn't the sweetest smelling cat, so we decided she desperately needed a bath. Considering what a catastrophe this could have been, I'd say it went fairly well, although I'm not entirely sure Alley would agree… It did get her grooming again and she suddenly became a little more brazen about exploring the house, developed a new interest in eating, and was far more social in general.

Little Aussie Friends

2008-12-15T16:24:00.000-08:00

One thing I've always really appreciated about Alaska is that if something's going to kill you, at least you'll see it coming. Not so in Australia. This morning I had the pleasure of catching a Red Back Spider (pictured here) sneaking up under my bike seat just as I was about to ride off to work. Scared the bejeezus out of me - the idea of Australia's deadliest spider biting me in the ass as I pedaled to work was quite unsettling. So, after a bit of flailing about and other ridiculous acts, I managed to flick it on to the ground and stomp it a few extra times for good measure.

I wondered, after the initial shock wore off, if I hadn't overreacted just a wee bit - just how 'deadly' are these spiders, because Australians don't seem to live in mortal fear of these pea-sized murderers. The morbidity rate from the Red Back is, in fact, diminishingly small. It seems that they're only a real threat to children, the elderly and the infirm, and there have been no reported deaths since the development of an antivenom. Turns out one has several hours to receive treatment after being bitten and it's only needed if symptoms get nasty (i.e. vomiting, excess sweating, pain beyond the region of the bite, etc.) But still, I think a bite might have ruined my day.

Sunsets

2008-11-29T19:49:00.000-08:00

Perth has an abundance of wonderful vantage points from which to enjoy a good sunset - of which it also, most conveniently, has an abundance. Most weekends Rob and I set off a few hours before the sun starts to go down to stake out a good spot, enjoy a glass of wine or a beer, maybe some dinner, and bask in the rosy glow. Over the past few weeks, we've shivered the evening away at King's Park, packed a picnic and played Uno along the foreshore, savored a fabulous meal on the dock in South Perth, and whiled away the late afternoon at Scarborough Beach.

While each of these evenings had its own highlights, last night at the beach was my personal favorite. Although we were unprepared and underdressed for the wind, the water was so refreshing and we had an absolute ball jumping in the waves. This was actually the first time I've really been in the ocean (aside from testing it with my toes a few months ago) since I came here. I was absolutely screaming with delight getting pounded by the waves - what a blast. After our swim, we grabbed some fish & chips, a few beers, and a spot facing the water to watch the kite surfers play in the wind before the sun went down. It was by far the most relaxed I've been in a long time.

Rob had a great surprise in store when we got home - the Sex and the City Movie! I've wanted to see this for, what, six months now! It was great to finally get my fix.

It would have been the perfect day had I not walked into a wall and nearly knocked myself out when I got up in the night… owh. :(

New Job!

2008-11-22T19:45:00.001-08:00

It seems an insurmountable task to stay up-to-date on this blog anymore, but I'm still giving it the ol' college try. The biggest news of the past week or so is the job I've been offered. A few weeks ago, I interviewed for a lecturer position in applied geology at Curtin Uni, just around the corner from my present office. I felt that the interview itself went really well, but the 45 minute public talk I gave to a hand-full of geo-types was kind of a blur, so it was difficult for me to honestly assess my chances.

When the department chair called me a couple of weeks later, the tone of his voice and the way he beat around the bush convinced me he was trying to find a way to let me down easy. So, imagine my surprise when he told me that after careful consideration the committee had decided, almost unanimously, that I was the best candidate for the job. They were very impressed with me and, as it turns out, they were thanking their lucky stars that I was in the right place at the right time because I have exactly the skill set they were hoping for. It turns out that igneous petrology is an area of great need in addition to a passion for teaching. Lucky me.

So, I negotiated my contract last week and will be returning to Perth on a three-year contract to start July 1, 2009. This gives me just a few more months to finish up my Ph.D. and try to crank out a few more papers (woo hoo). As sad as I am to leave Alaska, I am very excited about the prospect of teaching full time and living in Australia.

Fun-Hog Weekend Resumed

2008-11-10T02:23:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm fully back on the horse at work (I actually wrote something today… and I don't think I'll delete all of it tomorrow!!!), I feel I have the luxury of picking up where I left off with reporting my adventures in Oz. Fortunately, or not so, not much has happened in the past month, other than me turning 30 (EEK!), so it shouldn't take me long to get caught up.

So, Rob and my second kayaking experience together was kind of a mixed bag. It was great to get out away from the city and have a whole leisurely day to meander up and down an easy river requiring only a single portage. Unfortunately, this was the day my nasty little bug-a-roo decided to start bringing me down, so I was cranky and snappy the whole time. Bless Rob's patient little heart for not just dumping me in the river to go off and enjoy the beautiful day on his own.

It was a beautiful little river with an amazing contrast of vegetation on either side.

One More Thing…

2008-11-09T01:32:00.000-08:00

Is anyone actually reading this?

Feeling Better

2008-11-09T01:23:00.001-08:00

I think 2008 will go down in my personal history as 'The Year of the Doctor's Appointment". After a month and a half of feeling like complete and utter dog doo, I'm starting to feel like a normal, functional human being again. Woo hoo.

The downside is that my body is thrashed. Went to a naturopath the other day who told me my adrenals, immune system and digestive system are basically on strike until I chill the F out, completely de-stress and cut out the intense exercise. So, now I get to take a pile of horse pills every day, gulp down fish oil, meditate, get acupuncture and move slowly. It might not sound like a bad gig, but for someone with a life-long addiction to stress it's like going cold turkey for a junkie. But hey, it might just save my life…

Illin'

2008-10-10T00:34:00.000-07:00

I've been rather remiss in keeping up-to-date on the ins and outs of life here in Perth, but I haven't really been well enough to do so. Heck, I didn't even make it to regaling you with the splashing end of the 'Fun-Hog Weekend' as I was feeling so rancid at the time of writing. Apologies, but I do think a nasty round (or two) of rotavirus excuses me from my reporting duties at least temporarily. I spent more than three days over the past two weeks in bed, subsisting on plain white rice, cooked mushy apples and bananas. Yum. I finally broke my forced week-long fast with a wonderful meal prepared by my dear housemate Megan and her boyfriend Andrew, recently returned from their world travels. It was all I could do to restrain myself from completely gorging on the beautiful mix of textures and flavors.

Now my two primary objectives are to: 1. get better and regain a little strength; and 2. catch up on boat loads of work that I fell behind on. So I suppose this impending weekend will find me huddled up with my computer and thinking science-y thoughts a fair bit. I have piles of research deadlines rapidly approaching and a job interview at the uni in a few weeks to prepare for - zoiks. Too bad the weather is suddenly stunning…

Fun-Hog Weekend

2008-10-01T01:16:00.000-07:00

Rob and I took full advantage of the long weekend, in honor of the Queen's birthday (although it wasn't actually her birthday, whatever…), and got out to have oodles of fun. We busted out of work early Friday afternoon, packed up the car and headed south with piles of food and only the vaguest of plans. We knew we were headed to Dwellingup, had some notion of hiking a bit of the Bibbulmun Track out to a hut and hoped to get in some kayaking before heading home Monday.

We made good time to the little community, taking a short cut that afforded us some stunning sunset views, and had camp set up before dark. Dinner was full-on gourmet, putting us at slight odds with our beer-swilling, hotdog-roasting, TV-watching, music-blaring neighbors. Gosh, it's so nice just to get out and get away from it all, isn't it?

It was kind of a slow, groggy start the next morning, but it didn't really matter as the tourist info office didn't open until 10 anyway. We needed to stop in to grab a map and get directions to the trail head. The Bib Track, as it's so fondly referred to, wanders some 1,000 kms from the outskirts of Perth south to the city of Albany on the southern coast of Western Australia. It's similar to the great hikes of the U.S. in traversing a great and diverse region, dotted with huts spaced an easy day's walk apart, and passing through numerous small towns, where through hikers can pick up provisions. Our 11 a.m. start seemed rather late to me, but still afforded us plenty of time to pick our way along, checking out every flower along the track, and make it to the Swamp Oak Hut 13.1 km from town by 3:30.

We were accompanied at the hut for the evening by the most delightful collection of folks. There were two sets of ladies out for varying lengths of hikes and a solo gentleman. Everyone was so affable and conversation just flowed easily among the seven of us as we enjoyed the peace and quiet of the bush. I provided the evening's camp fire entertainment with a few tunes before we all turned in around 8 - I felt so old being the first to call it a night!

It rained pretty hard during the night, soaking Rob's pack and getting everything quite muddy. We were in no hurry to jump up and retrace our steps in the light drizzle that persisted through the morning, so we just lazed in the tent until everyone else had vacated the hut. This allowed us some dry space to organize our gear and dry the tent a bit before heading back. We took advantage of the leisurely morning and wandered down to the river for a quick leg stretching sans packs. There we witnessed a most comical group of horribly inexperienced paddlers negotiating a pair of small rapids.

We both were suffering from sore, tired tootsies by the time we strolled back into Dwellingup that afternoon. Wearing old running shoes and worn-out hiking boots is not the best idea for a 26.2 km hike, especially when neither of us has carried a pack in ages. There were no injuries or major blisters to complain of, but hot spots, aches, and foot cramps abounded. I was pretty well ready to amputate my stupid little toe by the end of it.

Eating out sounded like a great treat after a few days of wheat-free, dairy-free camping/trail meals, but that was before we fully considered what the hamlet of Dwellingup honestly had to offer. Neither of us was exactly impressed with what passed as a meal at the local cafe, and to be perfectly honest, my insides haven't yet settled! Alas, we returned to our campsite from the first night less than satisfied, but pleased with our efforts nonetheless and fairly impressed that we managed not to kill each other on our first overnighter.

Extended Stay!

2008-09-22T23:37:00.000-07:00

This has been in the works for a while, but I've been putting off posting on this until everything was official - I'll now be staying in Perth until the end of January. I just got my visa approval today, my flights have been changed and I have support to stay on as an intern working on my thesis research at CSIRO until then. It's all very exciting, albeit a wee bit sad as I do miss my friends and kitty and it would be nice to only be one time zone away from my parents, but a good experience nonetheless. This will be my first time in a foreign country for more than three months! Wow! Thankfully, it is starting to feel a bit like home and the adjustment isn't as pronounced as, say, Japan or Austria…

So, stay tuned for several more months of updates from Down Under and start planning your Christmas/New Year's vacations in Oz! :) I will return to Fairbanks on February 6 (LATE) after a brief visit to New Zealand. Sorry, only a 2.5 hour layover in Seattle!

Yard work extravaganza

2008-09-22T02:26:00.001-07:00

Phew - I wish I had before and after photos of this weekend's amazing efforts in the back garden. Rob and I spent nearly 5 hours pruning, ripping, sawing and dragging a pile of vines, branches and overgrown vegetation the size of a VW Bus out of the back corner of the yard. I swear there's 1/2 again as much backyard as I previously was aware of. I learned a whole lot about the appropriate way to prune a lemon tree and unearthed about a half billion centipedes - eeew. Rob was a total Super Star!Thus, a day's rest was required to recover from our efforts and the massive storm forced us to stay inside. What a perfect opportunity to go out and see WALL-E! (yes, it's only just come out here) Absolutely loved it, although was a little disappointed by the limited chuckles.

Now we're gearing up for a big three-day weekend away - more adventures ahead!

Wildflower Weekend

2008-09-12T02:15:00.000-07:00

A little 4WD-ing, off-roading, wildflower fun. Woo hoo - we were only lost for a few hours… Rob and I found a fantastic abundance of wildflowers blooming in the bush north of Perth, took tons of photos, did a little car camping, and saw a bunch of cool sights.

City to Surf - 12 km fun run

2008-09-07T18:42:00.000-07:00

It's taken an awfully long time to get the results back from the race I did last Sunday, but I suppose anything involving tens of thousands of people could take a while to process. There were several runs/walks on that morning - a half marathon, a 12 km run/walk, an 11 km wheelchair race, and a 4 km walk. All were to benefit special needs programs in W.A.

I don't have any photos of my own, but there are some online at http://citytosurf.activ.asn.au/1/3250/3179/photo_gallery.pm

Out of 24,570 finishers in the 12 km run/walk, I placed 2,179th, which sounds rather crap, however I was the 230th woman and 94th in my age category (female 19-29). Considering how little running I've done since last May, I don't think 58 minutes and 37 seconds is too shabby. Now, had I actually managed to find my friend Leah at the starting line, I may have fared much better with someone to run with - she finished 431st as the 29th woman and 12th in our category with a time of 51 minutes 18 seconds. Way to go, Leah!

Araluen Botanic Park

2008-09-01T06:34:00.000-07:00

Originally established in 1929 as a holiday camp for the Young Australian League, Araluen is a little piece of Eden just outside of Perth. Rob and I wanted to get out and enjoy the great outdoors this weekend, but I was worried that a long hike would trigger my plantar fasciitis and leave me pretty miserable for the City to Surf fun run on Sunday. So, we pulled out the Lonely Planet and worked out that this is pretty much prime time for flowers in WA and headed to this little gem less than an hour's drive away.

Since I'm a total sucker for gardens wherever I travel, I always try to keep

my expectations low, so as not to feel that it's been a waste of time/money - Araluen, however, wasn't in any danger of disappointing anyone's hopes. Rob, being even more of plant aficionado

than I, was truly in heaven, pointing out all of the native Australian varieties and savoring every blossom.

Urban Kayaking!

2008-08-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

Saturday was simply gorgeous - a little windy in the morning, but just as Leah predicted, the winds died down in the afternoon and it was the perfect time to get out and splash about. Rob, Leah and I rented a couple of kayaks and paddled up the Swan River into East Perth where we found some very cool houses and neat public art. We then lazed our way back down stream to return the boats before it got too chilly to stay out. Heaps of fun! Go Team SuperFun!!

The Wonderful World of Wheels

2008-08-25T22:31:00.000-07:00

She's not perty, but she rolls… Finally, finally, finally I have some wheels. My daily commute has gone from a 30 minute walk each way to a 10 minute ride, a much more efficient use of my time. It's also allowing me to get out and explore a bit more and running errands at lunch is now a viable option. Yay!

Impatience

2008-08-21T18:07:00.000-07:00

It's been one of those weeks - started out strong, got lots of analytical work done Mon/Tues, then everything kind of went to crap. I'm not sure if I've actually accomplished anything since 2 p.m. Tuesday (it's now Friday morning). I've been fighting with computers and fielding calls to repair the one that bit the dust, waiting for green lights to change all my plans to stay here longer, and generally feeling that everything is pretty much out of my hands for the moment. I keep trying to figure out what I can do instead of focusing on what I can't, but keep coming to the same conclusion: very little. Hrmmmm…

I'm bound and determined that I will not succumb to the same dreary state of hopelessness related to my work today. I will be productive and have something to hold up and say, 'hey, this is what I managed to do this week!' How's that for a positive attitude?

The weather here is perfectly gorgeous and the outlook for the weekend shows much of the same. Hoping to get in some running, a little kayaking, a touch of yoga, and a lot of loving and living in!!

King's Park

2008-08-17T00:55:00.001-07:00

The sun set…
The moon rose…
And it was a perfectly lovely day for a picnic…

New Horizions

2008-08-13T19:32:00.000-07:00

It feels like spring. Beautiful blue skies, birds in the air, sniffing and sneezing, and a heart and head full of love. It's wonderful. I've never felt so loved, so cared for, so cherished. It's so easy to love back when I'm getting so much. Mmmmmm…

The only way it could get better is if I get one of these jobs I'm applying for. Very cool opportunities here - sea floor exploration geologist, low-temperature geothermal geochemist - I'm so excited at the prospect of getting a real job that I'm blazing through work here. This is such an inspiring work environment. It's fun to come to work! Life is good.

Fun! Finally! In Freo!

2008-08-10T23:11:00.001-07:00

I've been hearing nothing but good stuff about Freemantle since I first decided to come to Perth. It has, however, proved more difficult to get myself there than I expected. I decided this weekend that the time had come - no more mucking about and making arm-waving plans that never pan out - get there, eat some good food, have a bit of a shop around and see the sights. Or something like that…

In the end, it was more like a beautiful day for a drive, a lovely time drinking tea with my new beau, a pretty crappy brunch, leading to a tummy ache that made the rest of the day a wee bit less fun than it should have been.
But, it was a stunning day and I found numerous reasons to head back for more Freo in the future. I can't complain one little bit about the company either… he makes me pretty darn smiley, even when I feel like crud.

Ladies' Nights

2008-08-03T02:10:00.000-07:00

Everyone loves a good girls' night, but two in a row is simply outstanding! Friday night, Megan and I met up in Northbridge to have dinner

with several of my female co-workers. Getting everyone in one spot where we could actually eat was a bit like herding cats, but we ended up with a fantastic group and delectable

food. It was the first time Megan had ever found herself to be the only Aussie in a group on her home turf - we were a motley crew of Brits, a Canadian, a Bosnian, an Italian, a Pole and yours truly. Man we had some great conversation and warm company after the initial ice breaking.

To keep the good times rolling, we all headed to the Brass Monkey for drinks after…

Much of Saturday was spent in pleasurable pursuits - yoga, sipping tea and reading the Ester Republic on the porch, food shopping at the Swansey St Markets, running with Simb

a around the neighborhood, wandering through shops and central Perth. I finally made my way to the gorgeously appointed apartment of my newly minted friend Jana for dinner after several hours of mindless meandering. She prepared a mouth-watering and simply elegant dinner of kangaroo, ratatouille, and broiled potatoes. This we washed down with plenty of Australian wine and digested with rounds of raucous laughter. Leah provided ample entertainment for the evening with her unparalleled story telling skills and arsenal of 'wicked' tales. If a more unusual mix of women could be found dining together in the city that night I'd be amazed: four accountants from England, South Africa, Scotland, Germany/U.S. and two geologists/geophysicists from the U.S. and U.K. Wow - but damn, did we have some good laughs!!

Little Life Tid-Bits

2008-07-29T18:19:00.000-07:00

I'm definitely digging my new little life here in Perth. There are lots of little differences, and some major ones as well, from my beautiful life in Fairbanks, but nothing to complain about. My housemate Megan (left) is nothing short of awesome. We really click and I'm very bummed that she'll actually be gone for most of the time I'm here. Her dog, Simba, is a wild and very affectionate little thing for which I'll be fully responsible while Megan's away. She's good company and it will be good to have someone to pull me away from the office every evening.
I keep having to remind myself that it's actually winter here. Aside from the few weeks of ridiculous cold in the house at night, the weather's been so nice. We've had quite a number of heavy rain storms, but they're always followed by lovely sunny days. This morning, I was greeted with an amazing full rainbow on my way to work - what a way to start the morning!
I've noticed that there's still a strong desire here to experience winter, even though it doesn't really exist… A few weekends ago, Megan and I went shopping downtown and I had to laugh so hard at the sight of cut-out snowmen holding surfboards and surrounded by man-made snow. The man-made sledding was pretty cute too…

Mini Walkabout

2008-07-26T23:16:00.001-07:00

I always enjoy exploring a new place by foot. In my humble opinion, there is no other means of conveyance that allows one to be more fully immersed in the surroundings. I love just wandering around, changing directions on a whim, stopping to enjoy a park or investigate an interesting shop. So, it was in this spirit that I spent nearly 8 hours, fueled by good coffee and tasty treats, poking about South Perth and Victoria Park this Saturday.

What a fabulous way to spend a day - I was truly blessed with too much sunshine, glorious temperatures and fantastic company. I laughed until my cheeks hurt and enjoyed every second of it. This city is so beautiful and inviting!

My So-Called (Bloody Cold) Life

2008-07-20T17:15:00.000-07:00

I do believe that, on average, I have spent more hours per day trying to stay warm since arriving in Perth than ever before in my life. Having lived in the interior of Alaska for seven years now, that’s saying a lot. It’s really not that it’s so splendidly cold here, especially during the day - although the average Aussie would have you thinking it’s about to snow any minute even when a good 24 °C (75 °F), it’s just that I feel as though I’ve been winter camping for the past two weeks. Now don’t get me wrong, I quite like camping, but I tend to dress for it, I never try to work on my lap top whilst freezing my arse off in a tent, and I’m typically quite ready to go home after two weeks - sadly, this is home.
No one here can fathom quite how the ‘Alaskan’ could possibly feel cold. First off, even the shoddiest cabin in Fairbanks tends to be equipped with at least a quality wood stove (if not a monitor heater) and a scant amount of insulation. This is in marked contrast to the two houses I have thus far experienced in Perth. Today I determined, without question, that our house is actually designed to cool itself to approximately absolute zero (the point at which all atomic motion stops - for you few non-nerds who’ve deigned to read this far) at all times. I’m not making this up.
While it was a beautifully fine day outside (the weather in Perth, I have learned, is always ‘fine’, regardless of the temperature/cloud cover/precipitation/ etc.), Megan and I could honestly see our frosty clouds of breath whilst standing around making breakfast this morning. In a nearly successful attempt to ward off hypothermia, I washed dishes in scalding water and Megan went outside to tame the jungle that ate our garden. I should have volunteered for lawn mowing duty, as Megan came in sweating in her tank top to find me blue lipped and shivering over our wimpy electric heater with a cup of tea in hand.
Resolute that I would make progress on my experimental paper this weekend come hell freezing over in our living room or high water, I packed up my lap top and headed out to find a coffee shop where I could work away without risking frost bite. My brilliant plan was derailed by a half discharged lap top battery, giving me approximately 37 minutes to work by the time I found a place to settle in with a cappuccino. So, after a bit of frantically working as the battery life quickly ebbed from my ancient little computer, I packed up to look for a new spot that might have the added bonus of an outlet. Another hour or so of wandering up and down the strip put me no closer to finishing my paper, but I did discover a handful of fabulous restaurants I intend to sample just as soon as I get paid…
I finally returned home, optimistically having convinced myself that the house had to be a few degrees warmer from sitting in the mid-day sun. Ha! Donning two sweaters and my alpaca wool hat, I settled down next to the heater with my lap top and multiple cups of tea, which cooled from boiling to tepid in approximately four nanoseconds, to bang out a few more pages of my paper. Over the course of the afternoon, I made multiple forays outside to defrost in the sun and convince myself that, yes, indeed it was about 100 degrees warmer outside than in the living room, despite having all windows and doors wide open. This was when I decided to further inspect this all-laws-of-physics thwarting house I occupy - it is incredibly well designed to avoid the sun’s rays from all angles throughout all hours of the day and does, honestly, seem to be equipped with multiple features actually designed to shed heat - a brilliant plan for the other 9 months of the year I won’t be living here, I’m sure.

First Weekend

2008-07-16T01:15:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful way to spend my first weekend in Perth - running along the foreshore Sat morning, followed by a food and wine show in the afternoon/evening, and wrapped up with dinner at a perfectly fantastic little spot that night. Hit the hills with a few great girls Sunday morning - 16 km through the bush in a few hours - giving me the rest of the afternoon to take care of household duties and a bit of work.

CSIRO Intern Extraordinaire

2008-07-15T17:24:00.000-07:00

Just over a week into my internship at CSIRO and I'm feeling like a flying success. I've met a good number of folks with whom I hope to collaborate over the next few months and have a meeting set up to talk with a geochemical modeler this morning - truly exciting stuff. The good folks of iVEC have quickly accepted me into their quirky little group and I feel like one of the gang. I'm feeling right at home in this incredibly sarcastic little corner of the building.

Perth Landing

2008-07-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

I had a rather uneventful journey to the other side of the planet. My flights were fine and on time, although, just as I had argued with the QANTAS agent who sold me my ticket, two hours was simply not enough time on the ground in Sydney. My squirrel-like habits were rather frowned upon by the customs agents who kindly rooted through every square inch of my baggage confiscating all kinds of wonderful treats I intended to eat. Alas, I missed my connection to Perth…

In all honesty, I'd have to admit that having a few extra hours to do yoga and wander around the Sydney International Airport before spending another 5 hours on the plane was not something to complain about. I still managed to get to Perth by 3 p.m. on Sunday where I was met by the illustrious Leah Glass. This, in an of itself, was worth the long journey.

Leah kindly took me to grab some food, ignored my incoherent babbling, and kept mum about my 8 p.m. bed time. There's nothing like a well-traveled hostess to know exactly what a weary traveler needs to avoid jet lag. I zonked out for a good 10 hours before rushing off to start my internship Monday morning.